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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. root — the cause
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pop — soda
  10. kid — to tease
  11. last — to go on
  12. ground — a position
  13. root — of a word
  14. hand — help
  15. last — finally
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. last — final
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pop — music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pop — to visit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com